Method for handling and transporting logs from felling site to consumer, and road vehicle for carrying out the method

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for handling and transporting logs from felling site to consumer, the logs being loaded at the felling site on a cross-country vehicle (1) which carries the logs to a landing where they are unloaded and loaded anew, viz. on a road vehicle which tranports the logs to the consumer. The logs loaded on the road vehicle (1) are bundled, preferably already at the felling site, by means of chains (17) to form a bundle of logs which is maintained intact or unbroken during reloading from the cross-country vehicle (1) to the road vehicle.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for handling and transporting logsfrom felling site to consumer, the logs being loaded at the felling siteon a cross-country vehicle which carries the logs to a landing wherethey are unloaded and loaded anew, viz. on a road vehicle whichtransports the logs to the consumer, the logs loaded on saidcross-country vehicle being bundled, preferably already at the fellingsite, by means of chains or the like to form a bundle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In known, conventional methods for transporting logs in the form of sawtimber or pulp wood from felling site to consumer, the processing, i.e.felling, limbing and cutting of the logs, is usually carried out bymeans of a cross-country harvester, whereupon a separate cross-countryforwarder collects the logs and transports them up to a landingpreferably along a main haul road, which can be reached by a roadvehicle. The individual logs are loaded on the forwarder one by one orin small bundles by means of a crane which is mounted on the forwarderand which is also used for unloading the logs at the landing. Here thelogs are sometimes unloaded in large stacks (frequently containinghundreds of cubic meters or more) from which the logs are also loaded inbundles onto the road vehicle, however by means of a crane mounted onthe road vehicle or by a separate loader.

One drawback of the transporting and handling technique described aboveis that both producer and consumer can form only a vague idea of thecharacter of the logs felled and transported to the landing, with regardto the total volume, thickness, length and partial volumes of thedifferent tree species in the lot. The different stacks are roughlydivided roughly into saw timber and pulp wood, but within the scope ofthese classification criteria, highly varying partial volumes of spruceand pine, thick and thin as well as long and short logs may occur ine.g. a saw timber stack. This is most unsatisfactory in so far as acertain saw mill is, on a certain occasion, perhaps mainly interested ine.g. thick and long logs of a determined tree species, while other sawmills may have other preferences.

The known transporting technique is further ineffective in so far asreloading from the cross-country vehicle to the road vehicle istime-consuming and thus expensive, since both unloading from thecross-country vehicle and loading on the road vehicle is carried out inbundles by means of fairly small cranes. Furthermore it is abiologically detrimental condition that the wood remains at the landingfor a more or less long period, before being collected by the roadvehicle. It may particularly happen that certain log quantities whichhave been felled early, remain for a longer period than other quantitiesfelled on a later occasion. In practice, each such delay results indrought cracks and insect attacks which deteriorate the quality,especially of saw timber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIVE IDEA

The present invention aims at eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacksand creating opportunities for effective handling and transporting ofwood from felling site to consumer. To this end, the method mentioned byway of introduction is characterised in that the bundle is maintainedintact or unbroken during reloading from the cross-country vehicle tothe road vehicle, the reloading being effected in that the bundle ishauled up from a ground position to a position resting on the loadcarrier of the vehicle, via log slides which are inclined against theground.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

SE patent application No. 67003604 and SE published application No.311,318 describe forest machines which facilitate bundling of felledlogs already at the felling site. For economic reasons, these machinescan however not be used for transporting the logs all the way from thefelling site to the consumer and, in actual practice, it is also notpossible to load large bundles of logs directly from the forest machineonto a road vehicle, since the road vehicle would then be idle for longperiods before making a full load.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the logs are processed bymeans of a processing unit which in per se known manner comprises ameasuring and recording equipment for reading and data recording thecharacteristics of individual logs with regard to length, diameterand/or tree species, and only logs recorded by said equipment are loadedon the cross-country vehicle, while providing a log bundle which issuitably marked or coded to be individually identifiable with regard toits contents and which is transported in its intact state from fellingsite to consumer.

In addition to the method proper, the invention also relates to a roadvehicle for carrying out the method. The specific features of theinventive road vehicle are stated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cross-country vehicle during felling,

FIG. 2 is a simplified end view of the same vehicle carrying a logbundle,

FIGS. 3-6 are cross-sectional views of the same cross-country vehicleduring four different steps of unloading of the log bundle,

FIGS. 7-11 are end views illustrating five different steps of loading alog bundle onto a road vehicle according to the invention,

FIG. 12 is an enlarged end view of the frame of said road vehicle, and

FIG. 13 is a plan view of said frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a cross-country vehicle is generally designated 1 andhas, in this embodiment, the form of a combined harvester and forwarder.An especially preferred design of the vehicle is described in Swedishpatent application 8602629-1. Thus, the vehicle comprises a chassis 3mounted on wheels 2 and supporting a crane structure 4 and a loadcarrier 5. The crane structure 4 which is preferably rotatable through360° relative to the chassis 3, suitably comprises a telescopicallyextensible outer boom 6 whose free end is provided with a processingunit 7 which in conventional manner can fell, limb and cut the trees 8to be logged. Preferably, this unit has the shape of a so-calledsingle-grip harvester. The vehicle also comprises a measuring andrecording equipment for reading and data recording the characteristicsof individual logs with respect to length, diameter (continuousmeasuring of the diameter along the entire log) and/or tree species. Theunit 7 thus comprises suitable sensors which are connected to a computer9 disposed in e.g. the driver's cab 10. The sensors of the processingunit 7 thus sense both the diameter and the length of the logs which arecut from the individual, felled trees, while the operator in thedriver's cab can enter the tree species in the computer 9. The vehiclecomputer 9 can suitably cooperate with one or more consumers' hostcomputer 11, such as in the first place an administration department (ora user terminal, a saw mill and/or a pulp mill).

In actual practice, the load carrier 5 of the cross-country vehicle 1preferably consists of an appropriate amount of transverse bunks 12 eachof which is, at both ends, provided with upright posts 13, 13' servingto keep the logs on the bunks, the actual chassis preferably having, inconventional manner, the shape of a pipe 3. The posts 13, 13' areconnected to the bunks 12 via joints 14 which allow pivotment of theposts relative to the bunks. The posts are pivoted by means ofdouble-acting hydraulic cylinders 15. Each post is, via a connection 16,divided into an upper portion 13A and a lower portion 13B, thefirst-mentioned being separable from the last-mentioned. It shouldfurther be pointed out the load-carrying bunks 12 can, when necessary,be tilted or inclined to either side in relation to the horizontalposition shown in FIG. 2, for example as illustrated in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1, the logs loaded on the vehicle 1 and being of saw timbertype, are designated 8', while a number of pulp wood logs are designated8". Moreover, two chains or wires are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 andgenerally designated 17, for bundling the load of logs lying on the loadcarrier 5.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 7-13 which illustrate schematically aroad vehicle 18 according to the invention. In per se known manner, thevehicle 18 comprises a chassis or frame 20 mounted on wheels 19, saidframe either being included in a pulling vehicle with a driver's cab orbeing part of a trailer. The frame supports in turn a carrier designated21 in its entirety and preferably consisting of a number ofspaced-apart, transverse bunks 22, each of which is provided withupright posts 23, 23' at both ends. See FIG. 12.

According to the principle of the invention, at least one and, inpractice, suitably each of the two posts 23, 23' is connected to theassociated load bunk 22 via a joint 24 which allows the post to bepivoted from its normal upright transport position to a position inwhich the post is inclined against the ground and can serve as a slidefor hauling up a log bundle from the ground. For such pivotment of theindividual post between the two positions, each post is connected with adouble-acting hydraulic cylinder or power mechanism 25. Advantageously,the cylinder of each such mechanism is articulated with the frame, whilethe piston rod is articulated with a lug 26 extending slightly beneaththe joint 24 and rigidly connected with the post as such. In a preferredembodiment, the individual post 23 comprises two or more members 27, 28which are relatively telescoping so as to facilitate extension of thepost when being folded down to its inclined position. Two hoists orwinches 29 are built into the frame 20, each of which comprises a line,wire 30 or the like which can be passed over a deflecting roller 31mounted on either of the two opposite posts 23, 23'. Preferably, the twowinches 29 are individually operable to allow adjustment of the logbundle to be hauled up, and remote-controlled to allow an operatorstanding outside the vehicle to control the winches, for instance viaradio.

CARRYING OUT THE INVENTIVE METHOD

In a final felling stand mainly consisting of full-grown trees, thetrees 8 are felled by means of the processing unit 7 of the vehicle 1,as shown in FIG. 1. From the individual tree, logs of differentthickness are obtained, one of which is however, more often than not, sothick that it can be used as saw timber. Usually, a plurality ofthinner, pulp-wood type logs are also obtained from the tree. Of theselog types, only saw timber logs 8 are loaded on the load carrier 5 ofthe vehicle 1 in connection with the felling, while the thinner pulpwood logs 8" are stacked on the ground, without being immediately takencare of. During processing, the measuring and recording equipment 9performs reading and data recording of at least the logs 8' which areclassified as saw timber and are to be loaded on the vehicle (in actualpractice, also the pulp wood logs 8" are recorded). At least the number,length and diameter of the logs are recorded, and, if the stand is notbiologically uniform, also the tree species. The measuring of the volume(i.e. length x continuous measuring of the diameter) is carried outautomatically by means of sensors in the processing unit 7, incombination with the computer 9, whereas the tree species is enteredmanually in the computer 9. Suitably, all the wood felled in the standis recorded. After the load carrier of the vehicle has been fullyloaded, i.e. the logs have been loaded on a level with the upperportions of the posts 13, 13', the two chains 17 are laid around thelogs to form a bundle or bundle unit whose contents are individuallyrecognizable after the earlier data recording of each individual log. Ithas been recorded in the computer how many logs the bundle contains,which volume each of the logs has and which tree species arerepresented. The bundle thus obtained can further be marked, for exampleby coding in the computer, by manual application of a marking tag and/orby color marking of the bundle proper (alternatively, both coding andmarking can be used).

It should be emphasized that during the felling procedure, the operatorcan at a first stage preferably select all thick trees suited as sawtimber, whereas the other trees are left to be felled later on.

From the felling site, the vehicle 1 is driven to the landing whichsuitably is positioned along a main haul road or some other place whichis easily accessible to a road vehicle. At the landing, unloading iscarried out as shown in FIGS. 3-6. In a first step shown in FIG. 4, theposts 13 on one side of the vehicle are folded down and removed, wherebythe log bundle on the bunks 12 is automatically transformed from itssubstantially square cross-sectional shape into the substantiallyelliptic cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 4 (or some other shapedetermined by the chains). In the next step shown in FIG. 5, the bunks12 are tilted, optionally combined with a pivotment of the posts 13'inwardly towards the center of the load carrier, whereby the bundlestill held together by the chains 17 falls off from the bunks and takesthe ground position shown in FIG. 6. The dumping of the bundle can beeffected either by merely pivoting the bunks 12 relative to the chassisor by lifting one of a pair of front wheels interconnected via a yokeand lowering the other, thus inclining the entire vehicle (or by acombination of these actions). After the bundle of logs has been dumpedfrom the vehicle in this manner, the posts 13 are reerected, whereuponthe vehicle 1 returns to the felling site.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 7-11 which illustrate how the bundle oflogs landed at the landing is loaded on the road vehicle 18. Thisvehicle is parked at some distance from the bundle of logs, thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle being substantially parallel tothe longitudinal direction of the logs 8'. Optionally, one or moresupports 32 are mounted or activated beneath the side of the loadcarrier or bunks facing the bundle of logs. The posts 23 on said side ofthe load carrier are folded down by means of the hydraulic cylinders 25to a position in which they are inclined from the load carrier and inwhich the inner telescopic tubes 28 can be pulled out of the outertelescopic tubes 27 to have their free end positioned under the part ofthe bundle which faces the vehicle. The two or more posts thus foldeddown and extended now serve as slides for the bundle of logs. A hook orthe like at the free end of each line 30 is then attached to each of thechains 17, more precisely in a point located as low down as possible onthe side of the bundle facing away from the vehicle. When traction isapplied to the two lines, by operation of the winches 29, the bundle oflogs rotates around its own axis and rolls as illustrated by the arrowsin FIG. 7, while rolling onto the posts serving as slides. When thebundle of logs in its entirety is in position on the posts, the bundlecan, without excessive frictional resistance, be hauled up along theposts onto at least parts of the bunks 22, which is not possible from aposition on the ground. In the final phase of the hauling, the posts 23'can be pivoted outwards a distance to the position shown in FIG. 10, atthe same time as the posts 23 previously folded down are pivoted upwardsso as to move the bundle upwards which is still elliptic incross-section. Finally, the posts on both sides of the vehicle arepivoted to their normal vertical position as shown in FIG. 11, wherebythe bundle of logs is forced to be transformed to the substantiallysquare cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 11. The road vehicle 18can thus be loaded without assistance from any crane whatsoever (whichwould necessarily be complicated, heavy and expensive to be able to liftthe excessively heavy bundle of logs). Thus loaded on the vehicle 18,the bundle of logs is transported from the landing to the terminal oruser. In other words, the bundle of logs identified or marked already atthe felling site, is transported in its intact or unbroken state all theway from the felling site to the user. In actual practice, this brings agreat variety of advantages. Thus, the transportation from felling siteto industry can--when properly organized --be made quick and effective,documentation regarding the contents of each bundle of logs being givenfrom the felling cross-country vehicle either directly or indirectly tothe user who obtains an excellent survey of the raw material ordered,which in turn highly facilitates the user's own production. Moreover,the inventive method renders it possible to ensure rapid transportationof all wood, since the documentation described above exactly states thetime when a given bundle of logs was felled, which means that a desiredbundle can rapidly reach the user. Further advantages are that the riskof theft is minimized since the felled logs are permanently kept inchained bundles, and that the wood can be transported to the saw mill inan uncomplicated manner.

Also the pulp wood logs 8" which have initially been left in the forest,can be bundled and recorded as described above, the thus obtainedbundles being kept intact or unbroken from felling site to user. Forloading the pulp wood logs, a simple forwarder can be used instead ofthe combined harvester-forwarder which is shown in FIG. 1 and which ishighly suitable for handling saw timber logs.

CONCEIVABLE MODIFICATIONS OF THE INVENTION

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment describedabove but can be modified in many ways within the scope of the appendedclaims. Thus, it is also conceivable to use the inventive method withoutdata recording of the contents of the bundles, although this is per sepreferred. It is further possible to use a separate harvester and aforwarder which cooperate at the felling site. It should further benoted that two or more bundles of logs can be loaded at the same time onthe cross-country vehicle (as well as on the road vehicle), instead ofonly one as exemplified in FIG. 1.

The term "intact" as used above and in the appended claims is, ofcourse, to be interpreted such that the bundle maintains the samecontents during reloading, even if during this procedure the bundlechanges from square to elliptic shape, and vice versa, as describedabove.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a method of handling and transporting logsfrom a felling site to a consumer, wherein logs are cut by a treeprocessing device, the diameter and length of individual logs aremeasured by a sensing means associated with said tree processing deviceto generate diameter and length measurement data, said diameter andlength measurement data are recorded in measuring and data recordingdevice, and the individual logs whose diameter and length measurementshave been recorded are first loaded at said felling site onto across-country log carrying vehicle, transported to a second site whereinsaid logs are unloaded from said cross-country vehicle and reloaded on alog transporting road vehicle for delivery to a consumer, theimprovement which comprises:forming a unitary movable and transferrablebundle of said individual logs on said cross-country log carryingvehicle; marking or coding said unitary bundle of said individual logsto identify said bundle relative to the data recorded in said datarecording device; transporting the resulting marked or coded unitarybundle of individual logs on said cross-country log carrying vehiclefrom said felling site to said second site; unloading the marked orcoded unitary bundle of individual logs from said cross-country logcarrying vehicle as an integral bundle; reloading the marked or codedunitary bundle or individual logs to a log transporting road vehiclewith said unitary bundle remaining intact; and transporting the reloadedmarked or coded unitary bundle of individual logs to a consumer.
 2. Amethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tree processing device ismounted on said cross-country log carrying vehicle.
 3. A method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein only logs of a predetermined size,determined by said sensing means, are loaded on said cross-country logcarrying vehicle.
 4. A method as claimed in claim 1, further includingthe step of entering into the data recording device the species of tree.5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual logs arebundled by at least one chain.